Lidl vs Aldi: which is cheaper for your weekly shop?

The short answer: for an everyday weekly shop, Aldi and Lidl are usually neck and neck, and both are cheaper than the big four for most own-label basics. Aldi tends to edge it on the shelf price. Lidl closes the gap, and sometimes wins, once you use the free Lidl Plus app. For most families the cheaper one is simply the one you can get to without a second trip.

Which is cheaper, Aldi or Lidl?

Which? checks the price of a basket of everyday groceries at the big UK supermarkets every month. Aldi has come out cheapest in most of those checks, with Lidl close behind, and closest of all when Lidl Plus prices are counted. The gap between the two is normally small enough that a single week's offers can flip it, so check the latest Which? result rather than trusting any one month.

What moves your own bill far more than the Aldi or Lidl choice:

• Shopping from a list. Both shops are built to tempt you with the middle aisle. A written list keeps the till total close to the plan.
• Buying own-label. Almost everything on the shelves at both is own-label already, which is where the savings come from.
• Planning meals that share ingredients. One bag of onions or one pack of mince stretched across three dinners beats any per-item saving.
• Using up what you already have. The cheapest shop is the one where nothing goes in the bin on Friday.

What actually differs between them

Loyalty and coupons. Lidl Plus is a free app with weekly coupons, member-only prices on some lines and rewards as you spend. Aldi doesn't run a points card in the UK, so everyone pays the same shelf price.

Fruit and veg deals. Aldi's Super Six puts six fruit and veg lines on offer at a time and rotates them. Lidl runs its own rotating fruit and veg offers. If you plan meals around whatever is on offer that week, both reward you.

Bakery. Lidl's in-store bakery is a big draw for a lot of shoppers. Aldi has a bakery range too, but many people pick Lidl for bread and pastries.

The middle aisle. Aldi's Specialbuys and the Middle of Lidl both sell non-food bits that change every week. Great if you need a slow cooker, risky if you don't.

Premium ranges. Aldi's Specially Selected and Lidl's Deluxe are their posher own-label lines, handy for a Sunday dinner or Christmas without paying big-supermarket prices.

How to choose

1. Go to the nearer one. A ten-minute drive each way costs more in fuel and time than the difference between the two on a normal basket.
2. If you shop at Lidl, use Lidl Plus. It's free and some of the coupons are on things you buy anyway.
3. Keep a second shop for gaps. Neither carries every brand, so a small top-up elsewhere is normal.
4. Compare your own receipts. Do the same list at both for a couple of weeks and you'll know which is cheaper for what your household actually eats.

Planning a cheaper week at either

Fancy a ready-made week? Our Aldi meal plan for £50 a week feeds a family of four, and the free weekly shopping list is grouped by aisle so you walk the shop once. There are more free budget meal plans for veggie weeks, slow cooker weeks and quick midweek teas.

Or let Make Me A Shopping List do it for you: pick Aldi or Lidl as your shop, set your weekly budget and who you're feeding, and it plans the week's meals and writes the matching shopping list in aisle order, with estimated prices for that shop.